Academic Clinical Fellowships

PLEASE NOTE that recruitment to ACF is not part of the national
recruitment process managed by the College.

Academic Clinical Fellowships
(ACFs) are prestigious and highly competitive clinical
academic training posts. They offer trainees the opportunity
to progress in clinical specialty training while developing
research skills and working alongside world-renowned academics to
conduct, present and publish research.

ACF posts are 3-year fixed-term contracts
which attract a National Training Number (NTN(A)) and
guarantee protected research time for the duration of the post.
They may be offered at any level up to ST3 (ST4 entry is permitted
in paediatric medicine and psychiatry). Trainees will join the
specialty or core training programme appropriate for their level of
entry and will undertake 75% clinical training, and 25% academic
research in their chosen specialty. ACFs hold a training
contract with the relevant Deanery, an employment contract with the
NHS Trust at which they are working clinically, and an honorary
contract (without remuneration) with the university at which they
complete their research.

Clinically, they are supervised by their local
Clinical and Educational Supervisors, responsible to the Training
Programme Director (TPD) and the regional Head of School. Their
research is supervised by their Academic Supervisor, who reports to
the Specialty Academic Lead (the senior academic responsible for
the university programme). The Academic Training Programme
Director has overall responsibility for the Academic programme and
reports to the Deputy Postgraduate Dean with responsibility for
Academic training. This comprehensive support network acts to
ensure that Academic Clinical Fellows progress both clinically and
academically throughout their demanding role.

ACF trainees also undertake a research
training programme provided by the university for which funding is
provided by NIHR, which can lead to a postgraduate qualification
such as a MSc or a PGDip. They also are eligible for a £1,000
bursary per year to attend or present at academic conferences.

All Academic Clinical Fellowship posts are
run-through training posts, regardless of
specialty. A trainee entering ACF at ST/CT1 in a specialty with a
core training period would therefore be guaranteed continued
training to CCT in the eventual specialty, as long as they progress
satisfactorily through their training. This applies whether a
trainee wishes to continue with combined clinical academic training
or not. However, they are committed to the original
GMC-approved specialty. If a trainee wished to change their
original specialty he or she would have to apply in open
competition in the same way as any other trainee. Further
information regarding ACF run-through is available on the
National
Institute for Health Research website.

If you have any questions about ACF posts or
the recruitment process, please contact an Academic Coordinator at
your chosen deanery.